IRENA & ILO Release Renewable Energy And Jobs – Annual Review 2024

International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) recently released the Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2024, which says that 2023 saw the highest-ever increase in renewable energy jobs, rising from 13.7 million jobs in 2022 to 16.2 million in 2023. The 18% year-on-year increase highlights the robust growth in renewable energy generation capacities, coupled with the ongoing expansion of equipment manufacturing.

Here are some of the important findings of the report:

• China leads with an estimated 7.4 million renewable energy jobs, or 46% of the global total. The EU followed suit with 1.8 million, Brazil with 1.56 million, and the United States and India, each with close to 1 million jobs

• Strongest impetus came from the rapidly growing solar photovoltaics (PV) sector, which supported 7.2 million jobs globally, out of which 4.6 million were in China. Enabled by significant Chinese investments, Southeast Asia has emerged as an important export hub of solar PV, creating jobs in the region

• Liquid biofuels had the second-largest number of jobs, followed by hydropower and wind. Brazil topped the biofuels ranks, accounting for a 3^rd of the world’s 2.8 million jobs in this sector. Soaring production put Indonesia in second, with a quarter of global biofuels jobs

• Hydropower became an outlier to the overall growth trend, with the number of direct jobs estimated to have shrunk from 2.5 million in 2022 to 2.3 million

• Despite immense resource potential, Africa continues to receive only a small share of global renewables investments, which translated into a total of 324,000 renewables jobs in 2023

Commenting on the high degree of geographic concentration, IRENA Director-General, Francesco La Camera, said, “The story of the energy transition and its socio-economic gains should not be about one or two regions. If we are all to fulfil our collective pledge to triple renewable power capacity by 2030, the world must step up its game and support marginalised regions in addressing barriers impeding their transitions progress. Strengthened international collaboration can mobilise increased finance towards policy support and capacity building in countries that are yet to benefit from renewables job creation.”

Adding to this, Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director-General, said, "Investing in education, skills, and training helps reskill all workers from fossil fuel sectors, address gender or other disparities, and prepare the workforce for new clean energy roles. It is essential if we are to equip workers with the knowledge and skills that they need to get decent jobs, and to ensure that the energy transition is a just and sustainable one.”